Adjustable automobile headlight rim



June 1954 B. E. GOLDMAN ETAL 2,680,804

ADJUSTABLE AUTOMOBILE HEADLIGHT RIM Filed Oct. 15, 1955 IN VEN TORS.

imah

Patented June 8, 1954 a,sso,s04 ADJUSTABLE AU QBIL HEADLIGHT Ben E. Goldman and Morris Goldman,

'Chicagm'lll." p i at r, We?! 15, Seria 918%? a claims. (01. ale-7.1)

This invention relates to automobile headlamp rims and more particularly'to arim which' riay be adjusted to accommodate the fender design of various automobiles.

"According to prior art practice, a headlamp rim would fit only a few of the variou s' "fender designs, thereby requiring a dealer tdinain'tain a very large stock of rims to accommodate" 'the various automobiles in widespread s'ervice'j In an effort to overcome this problem, deformable clips I have been used to mount headlamps on various types of fenders; however, such clips not only tend to break but also require skill and judgment on the part of a mechanic who applies" the headlamp rim to a fender. l v

' A primary object or the present invention is to devise a headlamp rim with an adjustable clip which may be quickly and easily adjus ed to "accommodate a great many'desi'gnsof fenders.

Another object of the invention is to provide convenient and simple index means to selectively position the clip in various adju t d tions thereof so that an unskilled mocha adjustthe clip to the desired fender 1 a accordance with oral 'or writteninst'ruo' ons. Still another object of the invention isto devise a radially enlongated slot inthe rini diametrically opposed to'the clip and adaptedt accommodate a retainer, such as a screwa'ssocia d with any fender to which the clip is adjii W A more specific object of the invention is ,to devise novel clamp means for the clip 'which'are readily accessible and which donot require'sldtting or other weakening of the rim structureI' Yet another object of the invention is todevise novel rirn such as above described wherein the rim structure is not only economical to manufaclture but is unusually rugged to with nd'the rigors of automotive service;

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of a headlamp rim embodying the invention and applied to a' conventional automobile render" and headlamp, which are shown in elevation; Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the rim shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the rim taken on line 33 of Fig. 1, with a portion of the rims inner web broken away;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clip.

.50 M .rneslo 4,0,

Desc i t e nv n o in de i 4 16 e d a im? com ses spaced radially f ner and outer webs or walls '4 and {if projecting axially f a in he i e We fleei e a tedto r?- tain a headlamp B'on a frontfender 10 of a l fii fint m utom e i l "Theradially outerwall 6 is adapted to mate with fender ill, to afiord a sealed en'cl ure aronnd'the'inner or rear edge of the headlampB, nd'said outer wall liaise "af rds a onve en enclosure for a flange l2 of the fender it), against which flange the inner or rear edge of theheadamp b dy t is se ed in the usu m n r.

The headlamp body It; is slotted as at I? to receive 1100K li 10 1p 5 hav n an l nga e slot i3 and'haying index marks in the form of lines 29', 22, 24 interrupted by saidslot Hilfor' a'pii'rpose hereinafter described.

'The clip' I6 is ad u'stably movable lengthwise thereof between spaced guide ribs 28 'whichfdefin a su dew y or groove 30 i a 100. 53 tegrally formed on theradially innerperiineter of wall 6 and spaced frojr'n' the radially outer perimeter of wall 4, to accommodate lengthwise m eme t 9 t cl p 1.6 durin adjustme t t ereor; as hereinafter described.

It may be 'noted'tha't boss 32 extends axially rearwardly of the radially inner wall 5 to afffoid access to a clamping screw 34 threaded into said boss 32 and extending throu h the slot "[8 of clip [6. By means of thi's'novel arrangement, h screw 314 a he 'cpn n n en a b a suitable tool (not shown) without the'necessity of trendin a slot in; e radially innerwallf to afiord allfl es slto thescrewet for this urpose. Thus it will be understood that the noyel arm m nisci ofilyacco m ares adjustmento 1'8 butalsoafiords an unusually sturdy and co g a a e Atth'e bottom of the rim 2 the inner web l is radiallyflthickened tdd ahe s me r rib sis" m n a is beveled a l its aziially inner edge to define an upw id y fac g slfififlfi fi b fir ii clearance for the headlamp 8. The axially inner ed of rib 36 is connected to a pair oif've'rtical ribs ag extending s g liwisether'eof radially pr tl'ierim 2 todefine "a dlal'slot .tltl for ,the'reeep- .tion of a retainer screw {l2 threadedinto ac Inplementary hole (not shown) ofthehea bojdy.f l'3, which is con nal int '5 r ard. s bes F t-i2 i d am i tal obpos'ite'theelip'llii" 7 1 16 he d o screw 5?: sea a ainst subs tially vertical surfaces 43 of the ribs 39 along the forward or axially outer edges thereof, said surmay be assembled with any faces 43 being approximately normal to the axis of the rim, as best seen in Fig. 1. The ribs 39 taper upwardly or radially inwardly toward their junction with rib 36, and the radially outer or lower ends of the ribs 39 merge with the radially outer web 6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus it will be understood that the novel arrangement of ribs defining the slot 49 affords an economical and sturdy construction accommodating easy assembly and disassembly of the headlamp 8 and rim 2.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 5, it will be noted that the index lines 20, 22, 24 and 26 are spaced lengthwise of the clip 16 and the elongated slot I8 therein, and said lines are plainly visible at the sides of said slot. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, when clip I is anchored to rim 2 by screw 34 with the head of said screw between lines 20 and 22, the headlamp rim 2 Oldsmobile? 1940-48. When the clip is anchored with the head of screw 39 between lines 22 and 22, the rim 2 may be assembled with any of the following automobiles: Buick 1949-52; Chevrolet 1949- 52; Dodge 1946-53; Plymouth 1949-53; "Chrys1er 1949-50; De Soto 1949-53; and Willys Aero 1952-53. When the clip is anchored with the head of screw 94 between lines 24 and 2B, the rim 2 may be assembled with any of the following automobiles: Packard 1951-53; Kaiser 1946-52; Frazer 1946-50; and Henry J 1950-53.

In assembling the novel rim 2, the clip is clamped by screw 34 in the desired position, depending upon the design of automobile. The hook I4 is then inserted in the slot of the headlamp body l3, whereupon the rim is rotated to the position shown in Fig. 1. The screw 42 is then applied, to hold the rim 2 tightly in its assembled position.

An important feature of the invention is that in the event the slot 11 in the headlamp body is damaged or distorted the hook l4 may be inserted between the fender flange 12 and the headlamp body [3 and the clip l9 adjusted sothat when the screw 94 is tightened, the outer wall 5 of the headlamp rim 2 mates perfectly with the front fender 10.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the manner in which slot 40 is elongated radially of the rim to accommodate assembly thereof, with the clip in the various adjusted positions above-described. In this connection it will be understood that adjustment of the clip changes the distance between slot 40 and the rotational axis of the rim during assembly thereof, and this change is accommodated by elongation of the slot 40.

While the present invention has been explained and described with reference to specific embodiments of structure, it will be understood, nevertheless, that numerous modifications and variations are susceptible of being incorporated without departure from the essential spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, it is not intended for an understanding of this invention to be limited by the foregoing description nor by the illustrations in the annexed drawings, except as indicate in the hereinafter appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A universal headlamp rim for attachment to any of several rimlike mountings which mountings comprise a substantially cylindrical portion and a flange forming a shoulder with said portion, said portion being provided with an opening adjacent to said shoulder, the axial spacing between said opening and said shoulder being varied as between difierent mountings, said rim comprising a web, a clip arranged for axial adjustable movement mounted on said web to accommodate for said varied axial spacings, said clip having a part for engagement in said opening to retain a margin of said headlamp rim juxtaposed to said shoulder, means for securing said clip in a selected adjusted position, and means for uniting said rim and the mounting at some other point circumferentially spaced from said clip, the uniting means including a radially elongated aperture in said rim for the reception of a uniting member, said aperture being adapted to accommodate fOr varying adjustments of said clip in providing proper connection of said uniting member with a relatively fixed screw-threaded element in said mounting.

2. A universal headlamp rim for attachment to any of several rimlike mountings which mountings comprise a substantially cylindrical portion and a flange forming a shoulder with said portion, said portion being provided with an opening adjacent to said shoulder, the axial spacing between said opening and said shoulder being varied as between different mountings, said rim comprising inner and outer webs spaced from each other, a boss on the radially inner periphery of said outer web, said boss being spaced from the inner web and extending axially of said rim to a point rearwardly of said inner web, a clip arranged for axial adjustable movement mounted on said boss to accommodate for said varied axial spacing, the clip being provided with a radially directed hook portion for engagement in said opening to retain a margin of said headlamp rim juxtaposed to said shoulder and with said clip also having an axially-extending longitudinal slot therein, a screw in said slot and threaded into said boss to secure said clip in predetermined selected position, and means on said headlamp rim for uniting said rim to said mounting, said means comprising a radially elongated aperture being formed so that it may afford proper connection of a uniting member with a complementary relatively fixed screwthreaded element in said mounting to firmly unite said rim to said mounting in any adjustment of said clip.

3. The combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein the boss is provided with spaced guide ribs defining a groove for said clip and said elongated aperture is positioned diametrically opposite said boss.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,167,824 Hunt Jan. 11, 1916 1,614,728 Godley Jan. 18, 1927 1,726,837 Jording Sept. 3, 1929 1,855,889 Nielsen Apr. 26, 1932 2,099,424 Punke Aug. 10, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 299,011 Germany May 31, 1919 

